Doppelgänger
by Ael L. Bolt
Summary: Soon after the events of Mirror, Mirror, both captains reflect on the shock of being in the other's place. Sort of a moodsetter for Dark Mirror a canceled fic, which will be posted as far as I have and leave the rest to morbid imaginations, but not


Doppelgänger  
  
By Charmega  
  
Summary: Soon after the events of "Mirror, Mirror", both captains reflect on the shock of being in the other's place. Sort of a mood-setter for "Dark Mirror" (a canceled fic, which will be posted as far as I have and leave the rest to morbid imaginations), but not connected with its history.  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Genre: General/Sci-fi  
  
Disclaimer: Vulcans are green, Andorians are blue, I don't own Star Trek and neither do you!  
  
Author's Notes: This is the result of a plot bunny that wouldn't go away. It's got sort of a deep meaning, but you should be able to figure out the point I'm getting across.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Captain James Tiberious Kirk poured himself another brandy and drank it in one shot.  
  
It was barely five hours after the accidental transfer. Five hours since he, and three trusted members of his crew, had beamed onto a completely different Enterprise. The parallels were shocking, but the differences were even more amazing. A ship run without torture devices, disciplinary actions, or personal weapons! That was the first shock to his system.  
  
He leaned back in his chair and threw the brandy glass across the room, satisfied by hearing the glass shatter against the wall. He'd had that ship, that universe, right at his fingertips. Again!  
  
The Fates certainly had a sense of humor.  
  
The captain sighed, which came out more as a growl. For a tantalizing half hour, he'd been back in that wonderful universe. A place where he need not fear the assassin's knife. A dimension where kindness and compassion prevailed over hostility, lust, and violence. An entire galaxy to be explored, rather than conquered.  
  
He thought back to Tarsus IV, a dark expression settling across his face. That was where the first encounter had been. That was where his life had been ruined forever.  
  
It wasn't fair.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Captain James Tiberious Kirk stared out the viewport at the stars, trying to keep his hands from shaking.  
  
It was exactly five hours after that mishap with the transporter. Five hours since he, and three close members of his bridge crew, had beamed onto a totally different starship Enterprise. A ship completely run by assassination, brutal exchanges, and complete tyranny. He was the one everyone feared. He was the one that only the foolish dared to cross. He was the one that everyone looked up to, but not for support or kindness.  
  
He rested his forehead against the cool transparisteel, closing his eyes and trying not to scream. He'd almost been trapped in that ship, that universe, and willingly at that! Why?  
  
He felt like such a fool.  
  
The captain wanted to kick himself for suggesting to stay in that awful place. For an entire half hour, he'd been back in that horrible universe. A place where danger lurked around every corner. A dimension where fear and anger ruled over the passive and compassionate. An entire galaxy of mortal peril, instead of the milder universe he was now accostumed to.  
  
His thoughts unintentionally strayed to Tarsus IV, and a sigh escaped him. That was the first incident, and he thanked his respective deity that it had happened. That was where he'd been saved from those unspeakable cruelties.  
  
Life was indeed fair.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
On Tarsus IV...  
  
Jimmy Kirk ran through the woods blindly, trying to escape Kodos' execution squad. He could hear the sounds of their shouts, and the laser beams as they cleared a path to chase the frightened boy.  
  
He abruptly came upon a small cave, and hurriedly squeezed inside. An instant later, pounding boots flashed past his hiding place, and he breathed an inaudible sigh of relief.  
  
He waited a good fifteen minutes before he bothered to come out. Looking around, he could see no one. He aligned himself with the nearest spaceport and took off at a run, intending to transport himself off the planet and away from the horrors of that world.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
On Tarsus IV...  
  
Jimmy Kirk charged through the woods, phaser rifle at the ready. He could hear the sounds of men running, and smiled tightly. More of Kodos' foolish "execution squad", he wagered.  
  
He came upon a small cave and slid inside, propping his weapon up on the rock in front of him. The instant he saw boots, he fired, and was rewarded with the agonized screams of men who had just gotten their legs amputated below the knee.  
  
He fired again, and waited fifteen minutes for the breathing outside to stop. He crawled out and looked at the three dead, legless men. He shrugged the rifle onto one shoulder and took off at a run toward the nearest spaceport. He'd had enough of this trivial nonsense. Time to get away and into space, where he belonged.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
In each universe, Jimmy Kirk arrived at the spaceport and hijacked a transporter station. Both of the boys set in the same destination, and began energizing at the same instant. Both vanished off their respective transporter pads, neither one aware of what was about to take place.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Jimmy Kirk appeared with a phaser rifle in his hands. He looked down at it in surprise, wondering where it had come from.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Jimmy Kirk materialized and immediately began to curse his apparent clumsiness. Where had that phaser rifle disappeared to? He could have sworn he'd had it when he began energizing.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
On the Enterprise...  
  
Both captains looked at their reflections in the glass of the window, a reminder of what each had once been and no longer was.  
  
"You took my universe away from me," one captain accused his reflection. "You damned me to this life I now lead, where I can never be safe."  
  
The other captain gazed at his reflection in silence for a moment before remarking, "Well, good luck in my universe. You're gonna need it."  
  
Both captains got up and left, leaving only the stars to testify.  
  
End. 


End file.
